Birds of a Feather
by BirdSpell
Summary: There's good, and then there's evil. But that line isn't all that clear. How are you supposed to say someone's a villain, when that person doesn't know themselves? Robin/OC, rated T for swearing.
1. A New Villain

Birds of a Feather

Chapter 1

**Here we go again... Actually, there is something special about this story. It's my first story with an OC that I created! Please don't be a Mary Sue, please don't be a Mary Sue... I'd better just get on with the story.**

**The only thing I own- hey, I actually own something –is Cardinal. Everything else=not mine.**

A New Villain

It was just an ordinary day at the Tower. Cyborg and Beast Boy were arguing about video games, Starfire was cooking... something- food was not supposed to be bright pink –Raven was reading her book, and Robin was attempting to get some work done. He was considering going to his room when the alarm went off.

"Trouble! Oh fuck it; I'll never get these files done!"

"Don't swear Robin."

"Rae, I keep saving your ass, I'll swear all damn day if I want to!"

"Let's just deal with whatever this is."

"Yes, we have been talking for too long."

Robin rolled his eyes, then led his team out of the room.

_Ten minutes later_

The bank. It was probably Red X, no one else was stupid enough to try to steal something from the bank when the Titans had been defeating two or three villains a day for the past two weeks, and never getting any files done, and-

_Focus, Robin._

The bird smirked.

"This is perfect."

"Uh, what?"

"I've been thinking it's about time to hand someone else's ass to them."

"You're not having a very good day, are you?"

"Nope."

"Please, how do you hand someone's rear to them?"

"It's an expression."

This entire time, they had been moving towards the bank, and now they stepped inside, ready for battle-

And there was no one there.

"What the-"

"What's going on?"

Robin ran a hand through his spiky hair.

"This is getting weirder by the second... Beast Boy, try to pick up a scent."

Beast Boy nodded, changed into a green dog... then charged across the room and sank his teeth into empty air.

"Beast Boy, what-"

A new voice cut Robin off, and it did not sound pleased.

"Ow! gami̱méno american yperí̱ro̱es! Get your teeth out of my arm!"

The Titans stared at Beast Boy. That was where the sound had originated, but Beast Boy's mouth was busy, and besides, the voice had been female. Robin was the first to figure it out.

"There's someone here, invisible. See that slight shimmer in the air near Beast Boy? That's where they are."

"Clever, _clever_ Bird Brain! Now, tell your mutt to get his filthy jaws out of my arm!"

"Not happening."

"Don't say I didn't warn you..."

They heard a sharp crunch, and Beast Boy was thrown across the room, reverting to human form as he did so.

"Ow..."

Robin stared around the room, following the shimmer in the air that was his only clue to the villain's location.

"Don't you know it's rude to stare?"

"Show yourself and I won't have to."

"Oh, but we're having such _fun_!"

"Please don't use that word."

"Oh... do I sound like the Joker?"

"Yes."

"That's mean. He's psychopathic!"

"And you're not?"

"I'm just irritating."

"I'd say 'fucking infuriating', but that's just me."

"Well Bird Brain, as you complimented me so _politely _I'll give you what you wanted..."

A girl slowly materialised in the room. She was dressed completely in red, apart from a simple grey domino mask and black boots that reached halfway up her thighs. She had a chain wrapped around her waist, with two short rods attached that rested against her hip.

_Are those nunchaku? Cool... Concentrate, Robin!_

He couldn't really see any physical features, as the mask and cowl hid most of her face, with her hair tucked underneath the cape. Almost before he registered all that, she was gone again, and a fist slammed into his gut, driving all the air from his lungs. On the floor, he could only watch as she knocked out his team with carefully aimed kicks and punches.

Once she was finished, the girl picked up the bag of cash and jewels that she must have dropped as they came in and walked towards the door. Robin, finally able to breathe again, suddenly realized that he knew almost nothing about this girl. Curious, he did what any teen genius would do. He asked.

"Who the fuck _are_ you?"

The girl half turned, head tilted in that cocky, mocking way that he only enjoyed when it was him using it.

"Well Bird, as you were _so _polite about it, I'm the greatest thief in all of Greece. And America, now."

"I _meant_, what's your name?"

"Ah. Hadn't thought about that. Let's see, it translates to... Cardinal."

And the villainess simply left without another word.

_Cardinal, huh? Game. On._

**So... what did you think? Do you like my character? I'm trying really hard not to overdue her personality, but I can't underdo it either... this is much harder than it seems. Also, '****gami̱méno american yperí̱ro̱es' translates to 'fucking American superheroes.' At least, according to Google Translate it does. **** Well, until next time, and**

**REVIEW**

**-Bird**


	2. Who?

Birds of a Feather

Chapter 2

**Hi guys! Dum de dum... reviewer responses!**

**Masquerade man1234: Thanks! It should be clearer in this chapter.**

**On with the story, italics are thoughts, I own nothing.**

Who?

_Who is she?_

That was Robin's question. Who was this girl who had defeated the Titans with ease, even contempt? He had no answer, and it infuriated him. He was trained by Batman for fuck's sake, why was it so hard to find anything on this villain? Her story was as invisible as the rest of her. Robin sighed, running a hand through his jet black hair.

"This is Red X all over again. Are all thieves this damn impossible?"

He could call Bruce and ask him for help... but he had gone solo to prove he wasn't just a sidekick. Calling Bats would definitely be a last resort thing.

"Oh, hey Raven."

The empath walked into the room. "You know, I'm not even going to ask how you knew I was there. So, how's it going?"

"Badly. I know she can turn invisible, but seriously? Everything about her has disappeared!"

Raven sat beside him. "You tried facial recognition?"

"No, it never occurred to me to use something I've been using for the past eight years."

"Just thought I'd ask. Nice sarcasm, by the way."

"Was that sarcastic? Oh, never mind." Robin flipped through the handful of articles he'd dug up. "All I've managed to find is some stuff on a Greek thief named Kardinálios. It's probably her, it translates to Cardinal."

"You speak Greek?"

"..."

"Of course you do."

"I speak lots of languages."

"Including Romani, Master Grayson?"

The sixteen year old chuckled. "Rae, my ID's still a secret to the others. Please, allow me to keep it that way."

_Undisclosed location_

Cardinal swung lightly through the window of her apartment. She could have used the stairs, but where was the fun in that? Crossing over to the far wall, she opened her hidden safe, carefully designed to be invisible to most kinds of scanners, even Cyborg's. Lead lined, too.

"Nice of Gizmo to let me 'borrow' the blueprints for this," she said, dropping her newly acquired cash into the safe. Then she facepalmed.

"And I'm talking to myself again. Come on Rosa, pull it together! Maybe I should get a companion. Like a pet! Oh yeah, that would be nice. Maybe a cat? Nah, that's Selina's thing. Dogs take too much work; I don't have time for one. How about a bird? That might work... Let's see. A robin would be too stalkerish, and besides, not like they sell those in pet stores. A parrot might be nice. A hawk would be better, and cooler, but the license would be a pain to get. I'm still talking to myself, aren't I. Okay, shutting up now."

Rosa tugged off her cloak, running a hand through her tangled shoulder length ginger hair.

"Seriously though, I need to stop talking to myself so much. I'm already a kleptomaniac, and to some extent a pyromaniac, don't need people thinking I'm schizophrenic or something too. I'm doing it again. Wow, I really need some friends. Well there's Selina, but she's in Gotham, stealing things, dating the Bat, the way she does..."

Glancing at the mirror on the wall, Rosa quickly raked her fingers through her hair, pulling out the knots that had formed while she was beating the shit out of the Titans. Being invisible was so useful. She wouldn't stand a chance against them otherwise. She rubbed her blue grey eyes. Rosa had been up all night; Cardinal had been out most of the day... she had only gotten a few hours sleep. Ah well. Quickly changing into a simple grey t-shirt and jeans, the sixteen year old headed towards the door.

"There! Now then, all set. No one would ever guess I'm the master thief giving the Titans so much trouble. Unless of course I keep talking to myself. Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Grabbing the denim jacket hanging from the mirror, Rosa left the apartment, reaching for the newspapers that were always left in the hallway. There was often something worth stealing that was mentioned in the news.

"Hmm... a diamond exhibit at the museum? Well, that sounds interesting."

_Looks like Cardinal's got her next target._

**So! What did you think? Ha ha, next chapter the Teen Titans will get invisibly attacked again... making them humiliate themselves is fun. I might let them almost win this time... I can't let my character win forever, but one more won't hurt, right? Until next time, and**

**REVIEW**

**-Bird**


	3. Tips and Diamonds

Birds of a Feather

Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I never have anything to say... oh hang on, yes I do! THEY'RE MAKING A SECOND HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON! Okay, now that I'm done with that... reviewer responses!**

**Guest: Thank you! Gah, it's so hard to make an OC and not have them turn into a Sue... at least I'm doing well so far.**

**Fair warning, this chapter will have some fashion talk, because I do not like the traffic light thing.**

**I own nothing, italics are thoughts, do I really have to do this at the beginning of every chapter.**

Tips and Diamonds

Robin pressed himself deeper into the shadowy corner he was hiding in and, for the thousandth time, cursed his traffic light outfit.

_Why did I even decide on this? I could have gone with a much less visible look but no, I just had to prove I wasn't just 'sidekick of the Bat,' and went for this stupid thing. I swear, I am changing the uniform the second this mission is over. Maybe black leggings and a red tunic... yeah, that'll look good..._

As he pondered that, his comm. went off. "Uh, yeah?"

"Hey Robin! What're you thinking about?"

"Concentrate on the mission, Beast Boy."

"I'll be able to concentrate better if I'm not thinking about what you're thinking about..."

Robin sighed. "If you have to know, I'm just thinking that once this mission is over I'm probably going to change this stupid costume. Get something a little better for blending in."

"Good."

"Oh, hey Raven. We need to focus on the mission, not my fashion sense, which I assure you will be thought much more highly of after I change the outfit." He shut off the comm.

The mission. The Titans had gotten an anonymous tip stating that Cardinal would be making an appearance at the diamond exhibition, so they were there to stop her if she showed up. It would be easier to catch her if she didn't know they were there, so they were all doing their best to stay out of sight.

"Hey Bird. So, how's your day going?"

Robin whipped around, but saw nothing.

"Come on, I can become practically invisible! Turning around isn't going to let you catch me. I'm standing about three metres to your left, by the way."

Robin considered that. "This reminds me of Batman and Catwoman. Of course, they're flirting."

"I'm pretty sure they do more than flirt. You know, it's weird how our mentors are in love, and yet every time you see me you try to haul my ass to jail."

"That's because you're a criminal- Hang on. Catwoman's your mentor?"

The villainess allowed herself to become visible. "Of course. She is the best thief on the planet, you know."

"Well, that explains why you remind me of her."

Cardinal shrugged. "Oh, speaking of Selina, she told me to say hi to you for her, _Kitten._"

Robin frowned. "You know, I liked that nickname a lot more before I met Killer Moth's daughter." Quietly, he pressed a button on his utility belt, calling the rest of the Titans to his position. "So, if you were in Gotham... how're things going there?"

A vicious smirk appeared on Cardinal's face. "Aww, is the poor little birdie homesick?"

"Okay, A, no. And B, I've got some friends there, is it so weird to wonder how they're doing?"

"Why don't you run home and ask Daddy Bats?"

She suddenly disappeared, just as Cyborg's plasma cannon lit up the area. "Distracting me until the cavalry shows up? Nice try Bird, but you're gonna have to do better than that!"

As the other three Titans ran over, one of the exhibition's smaller diamonds vanished into thin air as she apparently picked it up. As they tried to track her movements, her nunchaku flew through the air and wrapped around Robin's legs, pulling him to the ground.

"Seriously?! Was that really necessary?" An electric disk that Cardinal must have taken from his utility belt while she was invisible flew into Cyborg, sending sparks everywhere and knocking all the other Titans out with the force of impact. "Okay, I suppose it's better than being electrocuted."

A soft laugh filled the air as Cardinal reappeared. "You've got a sense of humor Boy Wonder, I'll give you that. Well, I suppose I'll see you around." Then she darted off.

"Wait!" The thief turned around. "Yes?"

"Why are you stealing that? Isn't the stuff you took last week enough?"

She sighed. "Maybe you didn't notice, but I only took enough for one week. Look, not all of us have an inheritance the size of Nebraska, Grayson."

This time she really did leave. Dick sighed, looking at the mess around him.

_I really need to talk to Selina._

**Done! Like I said earlier, I don't like the traffic light thing. Okay, for the next chapter, do you want Robin and Cardinal to meet in their civilian identities, or do you want another hero encounter? Both have appeal, and I can't decide which one to do. *bangs head against wall* Seriously, tell me which you want. Until next time, and**

**REVIEW**

**-Bird**


	4. Kidnapped

Birds of a Feather

Chapter 4

**Hey guys! So... this part is always kind of awkward. Reviewer responses! And there aren't any. Moving on.**

**I own Cardinal, and nothing else.**

Kidnapped

"Ow..."

Cardinal blinked, wincing as a blinding headache shot through her. She stretched out her arms, then stopped as something held her back.

"What the...?"

With some effort, she twisted her head around so she could see her hands.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

Her hands were tied together. And she was tied to a chair.

"Come on! What is this, Gotham? Can't a thief sneak into a back and 'borrow' some money without being attacked? Is that really so much to ask?"

She would have continued ranting, except a man walked into the room.

"Hey girlie. You know, when I heard of this master thief, someone even the Titans couldn't catch, I gotta admit, I wasn't expecting a pretty little girl."

Cardinal sighed. "I think you're lost. All the pedophiles live in Gotham."

The man pulled out a switchblade and held it to her throat.

"A switchblade? Wow, how original."

"Listen girl, from now on you steal for me, and only me. You're gonna make me rich beyond my wildest dreams."

The young villainess rolled her eyes. "So cliché. Look bud, I don't steal on command." She winced as another wave of pain shot through her head. "Oh, and you went just a little overboard on the chloroform. I'm a sixteen year old girl, not a bull elephant."

"I wasn't taking any chances."

"You know, villain or not, I still know how to cover my bases." She slid the Titan communicator she had conveniently 'borrowed' from Robin out of her sleeve and hit the alert button. "And the thing about an uncatchable thief? They don't have to worry about getting their asses hauled off to jail if, say, they get kidnapped and have to call for help."

The man stared at her, confused, then smirked. "Ah, come on. You can't bluff your way out of this one, girlie."

Just then, they heard the sound of fighting downstairs. Cardinal smiled.

"Who said I was bluffing?"

When the Titans ran into the room, they were very surprised to see Cardinal tied to a chair, laughing at a man banging his head against the wall and yelling that he would never work with a thief ever again. The thief in question looked over at them. "Hey, are you going to untie me or what?"

After an awkward pause, Robin walked over and slashed the ropes with a birdarang. "Thanks Bird. Hey, I'll see you guys around."

Cyborg jumped forward. "You're not going- anywhere?" By the time he finished his sentence, she had vanished. Robin smirked. "You know, telling someone who can become invisible that they can't leave is a waste of time."

_That night_

Robin stood alone on the roof. Cardinal had been trained by Selina, and Catwoman always thanked Bruce when he rescued her. If Dick's hunch was correct, the thief would be here any-

"I thought you said you were changing the uniform."

"I'm working on it, Cardinal. Oh, and I want my comm. back."

He didn't turn. It wouldn't help him; it would only give her an excuse to laugh at him.

"Yeah, not happening. I just thought I'd stop by, say thanks for, you know, earlier."

She was right behind him. He could tell, and it was kind of disturbing to know someone was right there and he couldn't see them.

"If you're really grateful, you'll back up a bit."

She laughed, moving back. "You know, Bruce loves it when Selina does that to him."

"Do you mind? The Titans don't know my secret ID yet."

"Oh, so you haven't told your friends, but the thief you're finding impossible to catch has already been told? And just so you know, I'm not Jason or Tim in disguise."

"I know. They wouldn't dress up as girls to save their lives."

"Got that right. Oh, I brought you something."

A small box flew through the air. Reaching out, he caught it and opened it.

"The diamond you stole from the exhibition? I thought you said you needed it."

She materialized in front of him. "I stopped by the bank on the way here. I'm good for cash. Besides, that wouldn't have been so easy to pawn."

"I have to agree with you there."

Cardinal disappeared, reappearing on his right. Leaning over, she brushed her lips against his ear.

"Thanks again, Boy Wonder."

Then she vanished. Robin's senses told him she really was gone this time. He hated to admit it, but she was good at mind games.

"Well played, Cardinal. Well played."

**Okay. There. I'm not sure about this chapter, as it's the first to have something in it that could possibly be considered 'romance.' Please tell me how I did! Until next time, and**

**REVIEW**

**-Bird**


	5. Rosa

Birds of a Feather

Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Another chapter, probably the last thing I'm going to update for a while, so enjoy it.**

**I only own Cardinal.**

Rosa

Dick Grayson looked around the busy Jump City street and smirked. He didn't have enough time to take a break from being Robin these days, which made times like these, when nothing was going on and he could just relax, very precious. The last time he had taken a day off, the Hive Five had seen him, recognized him, and dragged him to their hideout for ransom. It had taken a while for him to explain to the Titans why he hadn't been there when they rescued Bruce Wayne's ward. Lucky for him, Raven had told them he had been off stopping a robbery on the far side of the city and hadn't been able to get back in time to help.

Now, with the Hive Five in jail and no other villains who might ransom him around- he hoped –he had figured he'd earned a day off. He had been putting in a lot of extra work recently, what with Cardinal running around being annoying. He smirked again as he remembered the night before on the roof. He still needed to come up with some form of revenge for the mind game she had played. Lost in thought, he walked directly into someone, knocking them both over.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there!"

"That's fine, I wasn't paying attention either."

Dick looked at the person he had walked into. It was a girl who looked about sixteen years old, same as him. She was wearing a simple red t-shirt and jeans. Her eyes were a blue-grey colour, and were partially obscured by her hair. She was also a redhead.

Huh.

Well, he was pretty bored of wandering around on his own, might as well see if she wanted to do anything. It would fit his playboy image, anyway.

"Uh, my name's-"

"Dick Grayson, I know." This girl recognized him? No one else had, but then he hadn't run into anyone else, so it kind of made sense.

"Well, now you have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don't know yours."

"Okay, you run into a random girl on the street and then want to know her name. Sure, why not?"

"Um if you don't want to-"

She interrupted him, laughing. "No, no, it's fine. I am well aware of your playboy reputation. I'm Rosa Dranias."

"Dranias? You're Greek?"

"On my mom's side. My dad's Spanish."

"Ah, I see. So, Rosa, you doing anything at the moment?"

"You're asking me out?"

"I'm a playboy, right?"

"Fair enough. I guess, as long as you're paying..."

"So, what should we do?" Starfire would totally kill him if she found out about this, but they weren't dating, even if she wanted them to be. He didn't like her in that way. Besides, what she didn't know couldn't hurt her.

"There's a new movie that's just come out..."

"The Lone Ranger?"

"That's the one."

"You like Johnny Depp, then?"

"Well, of course I do. He's amazing."

Dick bowed slightly. "Lead the way, Miss Rosa."

"You are still paying."

"I know."

The movie was excellent. He had been meaning to see it for a while, and it was just as good as it had looked in the trailer. Afterwards, Rosa headed home.

"See you around, Grayson."

There wasn't much chance of them actually meeting up again, but he ignored that, waving as she walked off. Now, all he had to do was come up with a plausible excuse for him missing the Titans' movie night that didn't involve him being a famous playboy.

Rosa smirked. She had enjoyed hanging out with Robin, without mind games, or him trying to drag her ass off to jail. She was going to have to tell him exactly who he had gone out with at some point, but for now she could just catch him during his next mission and ask him how his date went. It would be fun to see how he reacted. At the very least, it would bring his paranoia to a new level.

"Well now Wonder Boy, let's see how your most recent relationship goes from here."

**And... the end! I know this chapter's a bit on the short side. Now, for the next chapter, do you want more action stuff, or do you want me to get on with the romance stuff? I'm not entirely sure. It depends what I want to do when I actually get around to writing the chapter. It'll probably be mild romance, because there's only so many ways you can have the Titans get defeated by an invisible villainess before it gets boring, and I'm too much of a wuss to jump right into the deep end with the romantic shit. Also, if Robin and Cardinal are suddenly madly in love it would be completely unrealistic. This is where I'm probably going to fail miserably, as I've never actually written romance before... Ah, well. Until next time, and**

**REVIEW**

**-Bird**


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